Some
shocking and disturbing information has been revealed today at a
meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Finance
regarding the adjustment estimates for the current financial year.

The
financial crisis of the Legal Aid Board has reached mammoth
proportions. The history is complex and the views of the various
role-players differ widely. No doubt the various complexities will
be debated ad infinitum. In fact, we are convinced that South
Africa will witness a mudslinging contest involving the ruling
party, certain opposition parties, the Legal Aid Board, the legal
profession, and others. This politicking will detract from the
core of the debate.

That
central question is: Who should be held responsible and
accountable?

The
answer is simple. The responsible and accountable persons
appointed by a democratic government are the Minister of Justice
and his Director General, as accounting officer of that
Department. Ultimately, the real losers in this saga are the poor
and marginalized people who are deprived of justice, the people
who can least afford it.

The
R432 million operating cost shortfall of the South African Rail
Commuter Corporation points to gross negligence on the part of the
accounting officer of the Department of Transport. This is
particularly true in light of the fact that the financial problems
of the SARCC have been discussed in Parliamentary Committees for
several years now, to no avail. Nonetheless, the SARCC has
succeeded in accumulating debt of R1.8 billion. In spite of its
huge debt burden the SARCC has requested an additional R632
million over the past two financial years.

We
can draw only one conclusion: bad financial management. The
Minister of Transport should take political responsibility for
this.